Republican lawmakers are discussing the criminal past of a Waterbury man Wednesday who stabbed a 1-year-old baby girl to death in Bristol last month and who was let out of jail early through the state's early release program.
Arthur Hapgood, 36, is accused of stabbing Zaniyah Calloway, 1, to death in the torso last month. He suddenly grew angry while his mother was caring for Zaniya at her Park Street home in Bristol and grabbed a knife, according to family members. He admitted to police that he took illegal drugs before stabbing the baby.
Hapgood appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.
Republican lawmakers say that Hapgood's past was filled with warning signs before the crime. He was arrested more than two dozen times in the last couple decades on charges ranging from drug-related incidents to robbery and got out of jail early through the early release program.
The program allows prisoners to take measures, such as going through counseling, to get time off their sentence.
However, if Hapgood's prison sentence hadn't been reduced, he still would have gotten out of prison before the murder he is accused of in Bristol.
Republican politicians are holding a press conference in Bristol later Wednesday morning to discuss his criminal record.
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Hapgood remains in custody on a $2.5 million bond.
